Cult, which shares an origin with culture and cultivate, comes from the Latin cultus, a noun with meanings ranging from “tilling, cultivation” to “training or education” to “adoration (Merriam-Webster)
Recently an article was published about the school I train with and am a teacher at – The Modern Mystery School. The article contains a lot of made-up facts and half-truths that are incoherent and clearly built up for dramatic effect and yes obviously it uses the word “cult”.
This is not surprising given the online magazine in questions makes money from clicks on their articles. Their articles are interjected with online adverts so the more people click on a sensational statement the more money they make. Interestingly they accuse the school of offering its teachings in exchange for money.